Shivers
by bla338
Summary: "Nobody notices anything anymore." He whispered to his reflection as the knife danced along his arm. "Nobody would notice anything." He wouldn't even allow a small whimper to escape his lips.
1. Chapter 1

_I've been contemplating suicide,_  
><em>But it really doesn't suit my style,<em>  
><em>So I think I'll just act bored instead<em>  
><em>Who can take the blood I would've shed?<em>

Seth casually twirled the long blade in his hand as jazz music played around the Cullen mansion. He stared down his reflection in the foggy mirror hoping that the smells of the many Axe shampoos would drown out the smell of his blood. The jazz music began to play slower and slower and Seth began to hum along softly as he let the blade gently run up and down his arm as hard as he could without breaking skin.

The young wolf stared at himself in the mirror taking in his black eyes and his light brown skin. He frowned before pressing the blade harder onto his arm. For a moment, pain washed over him, and he pulled the blade down his arm watching as more of his skin tore open. As soon as the feeling of pain washed over him, it was gone. It left only a dull ache and a small faded scar that would soon vanish as well.

The music stopped.

"Seth, are you done?" Jacob's voice came from the other side of the door obviously irritated, and Seth couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Just a minute."

The next song on the jazz CD began and Seth cut himself once again this time going deeper. If possible, his arm healed faster.

The disappointing thing about being a werewolf was that the pain he craved only lasted for a few seconds, but it was those seconds that he lived for.

Seth opened the door slowly somehow managing to hide the switchblade from his Alpha as he exited the bathroom. Jake wasted no time in diving into the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him leaving a younger wolf to casually twirl his switchblade in his hand. Seth gave the now clean blade an unreadable look before he closed it and stuffed in his back pocket. It wouldn't do him any good to have one of the veggie vamps discover his blade.

Somewhere down on the bottom floor Seth could hear Edward cooing at Renesmee while Rosalie fed the half-vampire whatever gourmet food they had prepared. Seth shook his head before sauntering down the steps and plastering a fake smile on his face.

"Hello, Nessie," Seth called as the young wolf sat down at the table next to the young girl. "How old are you today?"

Renesmee grinned at Seth trying her hardest not to check him out while her father was there. The last time she had accidently done it she had been chastised by not only her parents but also by _Jake_. It's bad when you receive the talk from your older brother and best friend.

"I'm officially sixteen." Renesmee smirked taking in Seth's shocked expression. "According to Nahuel, I'm done growing." Seth nodded his head as the girl flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder sending a flowery scent over to him. "I'm now the same age as you."

"Well, you've only been alive for about seven years," Seth muttered clearly displeased that he was once again the youngest person in the house. "Technically I'm still older."

"Yes, but I'm smarter than you."

Seth placed his head in his hands as Renesmee slid off the barstool. He needed another cut.

"Everyone is smarter than Seth," Rosalie mentioned watching Renesmee shamelessly flirt. "I think all the girls should go shopping today."

Renesmee immediately groaned at the mention of shopping. "Auntie, you said that we already did back-to-school shopping. Why are we going again?"

Rosalie refrained from mentioning the only reason they took so many impromptu shopping trips was because the young half-vampire flirted too much with the _wrong_ wolf. If the young (but at the same time not so young) girl could understand that she was supposed to flirt with the wolf that was her imprint, maybe they wouldn't have to try their hardest to make excuses to drag the two teenagers away from each other.

"This is going to be your first time at real high school," Seth noted. "You might as well take it in." Seth inhaled deeply before winking at the half-vampire. "Sounds like Jake's out the shower; I'm gonna go look for Leah."

It took Seth a record of two minutes and thirty-six seconds to locate his older sister. It was no surprise that she was sitting in the garage helping Emmett install a new radio into the small Lexus that Carlisle and Esme bought for Renesmee. Seth stared at the two working together for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"What do you want, pup?" Emmett asked as he coached Leah into how to remove the current radio without damaging the car. "We're kind of busy and I don't want Leah getting distracted."

"Nothing too important," Seth muttered. These damned vampires were getting in the way of everything he used to do with his pack. Normally, he could sit and have a full conversation with his sister or his pack brother, but now the veggie vamps wanted to have the wolves become fully immersed in "vampire activities."

Seth hid his snort behind a series of fake coughs before he excused himself. The wolf was quickly becoming angry and as soon as his body began to shake a calming sensation washed over him forcing his shoulders to slump and his eyes to droop. When Jasper used his power to calm Seth down, the effects made him feel as if he was high. Who needed alcohol when they had a vampire to make them get drunk?

Somewhere ahead of him the cowboy was standing awkwardly still while watching Seth shuffle towards the white sofa. There was a long moment of silence that neither of the boys wanted to break.

"Seth, are you OK?" Jasper asked allowing his southern twang to come out a bit. "You were feeling a little angry back there."

"I'm fine," Seth closed his eyes allowing the calmness to completely wash over him. "Just a little worked up is all."

* * *

><p>Leah stood on the front steps while the Cullen family along with Jacob stared down an angry Renesmee. There was trouble in paradise that had once again formed because Renesmee had taken her flirting with Seth a little too far. Seth had immediately seen the problems he was causing and had silently disappeared into the house to take another "shower" where he would open too many bottles of Axe shampoo before playing with his knife.<p>

Seth had given up on the jazz music for this morning deciding that the family's yelling was enough to drown out the noise of a knife cutting through skin. Once again he was right. Nobody would notice.

"Nobody notices anything anymore." He whispered to his reflection as the knife danced along his arm. "Nobody would notice anything." Without warning Seth cut through his skin as deep as he could go without hitting the bone and he angrily dragged the knife down not once looking away from his reflection. He wouldn't even allow a small whimper to escape his lips.

By the time he was done, the knife was clean, the scar was gone, and there was no trace of the cold empty Seth that had been locked away in the bathroom. This Seth was happy and never depressed. This Seth was easily overlooked.

Seth walked out the front door and smiled warmly at the cold faces that greeted him. "So who am I riding with today?" Seth asked allowing his overly excited eyes to sweep over the cold and rainy atmosphere.

After a long pause, Renesmee spoke up. "You're riding with me." Seth smiled when Renesmee linked her arm through his and he struggled desperately to keep the smile on his face when he saw Jacob's hard gaze fix itself on the two of them.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><em>Did you see the new kids?<em>

_Did you see that girl?_

_Ohmigosh! Do you mean the one who was hanging around the muscular kid? Of course, I did!_

_My mom works with their adoptive father at the hospital says that all the kids are like dating since they aren't really related._

_Oh I heard that too! The muscular guy that's tan has a brother and sister that were also adopted. Apparently, they're too old for school._

_Oh yeah! They came from an Indian Reservation, right?_

* * *

><p>Seth ignored the loud whispers that followed him around for the whole day. He was used to gossip being passed around about him, but this was the first time any whispers were linked to the Cullens. In fact, Seth couldn't help but send a brilliant smile to the group of girls that started the rumors. It was nice to know that even when he was around imperfect beings, such as vampires, people could still think of him as attractive.<p>

When he got home, he was glad that Carlisle was working late at the hospital, and that the rest of the Cullens were either hunting with Renesmee or racing Leah and Jacob around the woods. It gave him a time to have a good proper cut without having to worry about using way too much shampoo to drown out the smell or having to blast jazz music so no one could hear the sounds.

Seth immediately pulled his switchblade out of his back pocket feeling tremendously proud that he hadn't lost the item. It would've been a shame if he lost his beloved blade. He would have to go through the trouble of trying to find another pawn shop where they sold blades as long as this one.

"Free at last," Seth mumbled staring at his black eyes. He squinted at his reflection in the mirror thinking that for a moment he saw a hint of brown in them.

Shrugging, he dug the blade into his skin multiple times enjoying the pain that it brought. He was so focused on carving an intricate design into his skin that he didn't hear the sound of light footsteps that rushed up the stairs. Not once did he notice that he wasn't alone in the house until the bathroom door burst open revealing Renesmee and Bella staring at him with wide eyes.

Seth immediately threw his arm under the sink along with the knife to wash off the blood that was already beginning to dry. His hands shook so much that the blade slipped out of his grasp and skidded over to the feet of the two women.

"Seth," Bella whispered as Renesmee bent down to pick up the switchblade. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything." Seth cried watching his skin close up leaving only pink scar in the shape of the design he had been drawing. "Just forget you ever saw this, OK?"

"Seth, we can't forget we ever saw this!" Renesmee yelled waving the knife around.

"How long have you been doing this?" Bella asked quietly ignoring her daughter's yell.

"Doing what," Seth hissed.

"What's going on up here?" Carlisle's voice cut through the discussion and Seth swore loudly ignoring the look he got from his new fatherly figure. It was just his luck to have the doctor come home early. "Renesmee where did you get that knife?"

"It's Seth's," Bella responded for her daughter as her golden eyes stayed fixed on the panicking teen in front of her. "We walked in on him cutting himself."

"Liar!" Seth cried angrily. His eyes were blazing with fury, fear, and other emotions that no one could decipher. "She didn't see anything!"

"Then where did that scar come from?" Renesmee spoke up causing Seth to press his lips into a firm line.

"Seth, I think we need to talk." Carlisle muttered keeping his eyes on the blade in Renesmee's hand.

"We don't have anything to talk about." Seth shot back. Carlisle glanced warily at Seth before it returned to the knife that Renesmee had swiftly tucked into his lab coat. "Please, Carlisle, just give me back the knife." Seth began to plead. "I-I promise I'll th-throw it away. Just give it back."

Carlisle moved to walk away and Seth lunged at the doctor allowing a vicous snarl to rip out of his throat. Immediately, Bella's arms wrapped around Seth and she tugged him to the ground trying to pin him down. Seth struggled flailing his arms as he cried out for his knife.

"Renesmee, help me hold him down – don't look at me like that, do it! Carlisle, get us something to knock him. We need a large amount."

Before Seth could register what had happened, he felt something prick his skin multiple times. Then it all went black.

There was arguing going on. A lot of it. Seth didn't have to be conscious to understand they were fighting about him. He just wished they weren't fighting about him. He wished they would leave him alone or just shut the hell up. He wanted them to go away.

When Seth woke up, he was sitting at the dining room table with the whole family seated around the table as well. Leah was on his right side while Jacob was on his left. He knew they were the only two people who were probably on his side right now.

Seth's eyes found a glass of water conveniently sitting in front of him and without thinking twice about it he drained the glass. After his third or fourth glass, Carlisle cleared his throat.

"Seth," Carlisle's voice was calm compared to how tense the atmosphere was. It only made Seth feel nervous. It was funny how the first feeling he truly felt besides anger was caused by the one person who probably had the purest intentions. "We want to know what you were doing with that knife."

Seth's hand moved to his back pocket, and he frowned when he realized the doctor was currently in possession of his knife. Damn it all…

"I wasn't doing anything." Seth's voice came out calm and collected and he knew only Edward and Jasper would see through his façade.

"He's lying," Edward whispered.

"Seth, were you cutting yourself?" It was Carlisle who spoke.

"Hell no!" Seth wasted no time in replying.

"He was." Edward murmured.

"Seth, how long have you been doing this?" Carlisle again.

"Doing what?" Seth again.

"For a while." Edward once again interjects.

"Dammit Edward!" Seth slammed his fist on the granite table causing everyone to flinch. "Would you stop acting as if I can't answer for myself?"

"Maybe if you told the truth, we wouldn't need Edward to answer for you." Esme scolded in that soft motherly tone. "Seth, we only want to help you."

"Give me the knife back." Seth made a move to lunge across the table, but was stopped by his sister's hand on his shoulder. He silently sat back down. "I only want the knife back. I'll promise to stop cutting myself if you just–"

"If we just give you back your knife," Jasper finished Seth's sentence for him.

"Seth, listen," Leah whispered quietly. So much for his pack mates siding with him. Couldn't they see that he was perfectly fine?

"You're not fine, Seth," Edward yelled. "You're cutting yourself and you're trying to lie about it. Can't you see that you're _not_ _fine_?"

* * *

><p>The next few weeks were hell. Seth wouldn't leave his room, wouldn't eat, and he wouldn't talk to anyone. People moved in and out of his room trying to talk to him; trying to get him to listen. He wouldn't budge. It wasn't until they were a month into school that Seth returned to the world. He went to school, did his homework, ate dinner, and went to sleep.<p>

"Seth," Carlisle sighed at his adoptive son. "You're going to counseling." Seth glared at the older man with enough force to make Renesmee glance away from her friend. "There's a group session at the hospital for teens… like you…"

"I don't want help." Seth muttered pushing his plate away. "I don't need help; I need my knife." Why couldn't they understand that the knife was the one thing in his life that didn't change? It was the one thing that he could control. He needed it to survive.

"You don't need your knife." Carlisle replied. "You need help."

* * *

><p>Seth glared at the small frail woman by the name of Dr. Burke. Seth glared at the small group of boys and girls that sat in a circle in an empty hall of the hospital. Seth glared at anyone who looked at him. Seth didn't want or need to be here.<p>

"Hello everyone, I'm Dr. Burke, maybe we should go around in a circle and introduce who we are and why we need to be here." The woman clapped her hands anxiously, and the girl sitting to the right of the doctor nervously looked at the ground.

"I'm Myra," the girl swallowed at the glare Seth sent her. "I have anger management."

"I'm John, and I have an unhealthy obsession with blood."

"I'm Katie and I'm a drug addict."

"I'm Leonardo and I'm a drug addict too."

Finally they got to Seth, and he refused to look up from the ground. There was a moment of silence before Seth looked at each and every one of the faces that were staring at him. He was disgusted by these people.

"I'm Seth."

The girl next to him raised an eyebrow at his lack of introduction, but she went next anyways. "I'm Pyromaniac, and all my friends call me Pyro."

Seth looked over at the girl who was apparently going by the name Pyro, and he was shocked when his eyes met with hers. The whole world shook and spun before suddenly focusing on her. Everything suddenly made sense, and for the first time all day he felt glad that he came here.


	2. Chapter 2

_She makes me feel so ugly_  
><em>My heart is really on its knees<em>  
><em>But I keep a poker face so well<em>  
><em>That even mother couldn't tell<em>

Seth felt suffocated. The Cullens would no longer leave him alone in fear that he would somehow get his hands onto another knife. He couldn't even shower or brush his teeth without someone standing in the bathroom with him. The only time one of the Cullens weren't breathing down his back was when he was at group therapy.

In fact, group therapy was the only time when Seth felt like he could truly breathe. And it wasn't even because for once no one was following him. No, it was because of that small, short, stubborn girl named Pyro.

Seth felt like Pyro was the first real friend he ever had in a while. She was the only person who he talked to at group therapy sessions, and he even let her take on wild adventures through the hospital after the sessions. She made him feel alive, and it was the first time in a while he felt something warm inside of him.

Pyro leaned over the small table they were sitting at so that her face was only centimeters away from his. Seth couldn't help but close his eyes and inhale the deliciously sweet scent that wafted over to him. When he opened his eyes, her lips were pulled back into an effortless smile that made the corner of his own lips begin to tug upwards.

"Burke is boring," Pyro whispered as the doctor encouraged whatever it was that Leonardo was painting. "Let's go to the kitchens." Seth raised an eyebrow at Pyro, but allowed her to pull him up.

"Mrs. Burke," Pyro announced loudly. "I'm hungry, Seth and I are going to go to the kitchens; we'll bring back some snacks for everyone."

Without waiting for a reply, Pyro dragged Seth out of the room before taking off down the hall. Seth wasted no time in following her as they moved through the long hallways before stopping in front of an abandoned janitor's closet. Pyro opened the door slowly only holding it open long enough for Seth to slip inside.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Pyro whispered as she flicked on the lights. They both sat in silence while their eyes adjusted to the light before Pyro grabbed a wire coat hanger and a cooler. "You want to see something cool?"

Seth grinned as Pyro pulled out a lighter. His facial expressions were all she needed to continue what she was going to do. He watched as she untwisted the wire coat hanger before twisting one end of it to be shaped like a swirl. She opened up the cooler revealing a large amount of ice water which only intrigued Seth even more. Pyro sent Seth a confident smile before clicking the lighter and allowing the fire to heat up the hanger until it had a strange glow.

"Are you branding yourself," Seth asked raising an eyebrow as Pyro pressed the metal against her shoulder.

"Yeah," Pyro replied wincing at the burn that began to form on her arm. After what seemed like forever, she pulled the hanger away and dipped it into the ice water. "How does it look?" She showed Seth the brand and he whistled lowly.

"Tuff," he muttered leaning in to get a better look.

"You want one?" She asked grabbing another hanger. "We can get a matching brand on our arms."

"I'm in," Seth immediately scooted closer to her in order to get another whiff of her scent.

Pyro tilted her head to the side as she assessed the boy in front of her. She had expected him to get antsy or even nervous, but here he was completely calm about everything. Without meaning to she smiled again, and just like last time he was eager to return it.

Seth watched while Pyro twisted the front part of the hanger into a heart shape. He noted that she was amazingly skilled at this before she held it up in front of the lighter. Before he knew it, both of their arms were pressed against each others, and she pressed the heart shaped hanger in the middle of their arms.

"Best friends," Pyro muttered as the room began to smell like burning flesh.

"Best friends," Seth repeated.

* * *

><p>Esme hissed as she looked at the brand that Seth had on his arm. It looked like half of a heart had been burned onto the edge of his forearm, and she was positive that he had not left to go to that therapy session with that brand mark on his arm. The only way it would've gotten there was if someone had put it there.<p>

"Seth, are you branding yourself?" Esme asked staring at the half heart. When he stayed quiet, she called Edward in. "Seth, who did this to you?"

Immediately, Seth began reciting the alphabet in his head over and over again. But when he got to the letter 'P' his thoughts began to drift towards Pyro and what they had done in the janitor's closet at the hospital. Before he could get a grip on his thoughts, Edward had recited what had happened to Esme.

"I can't believe you _branded_ yourself!" Esme dropped Seth's hand angrily. "I'm going to call the hospital and–"

The phone that Esme had been reaching for disappeared off the cradle and when Esme turned she saw Seth holding it his hand. Esme pursed her lips at the boy who she began to think of as her son, but she stopped when she realized how desperate he was beginning to look.

"Don't take Pyro away from me too." He whispered. Esme paused unable to say anything. "What if they kick her out of therapy? She's my _friend_. I can't do this without her."

"Do what? You haven't gotten better. You're the same as you were a month ago!" Esme's yelling caused Seth to look down. "What is it about this girl?"

"She's his imprint." Edward whispered. The word imprint sounded foreign to Seth's ears, yet he knew that Edward spoke the truth. He had indeed imprinted on the little pyromaniac in his group therapy sessions.

"You imprinted and you didn't tell us."

"You would've taken her away from me!" Seth cried. With a sudden flash of anger he threw the phone at the wall cringing when it smashed into five different pieces. "You're taking everything from me." he whispered.

"Seth–"

Esme's words were cut off when Seth held up his branded arm for her see. "Now you can't take her away from me. She's always gonna be with me and nothing you can do is going to change that."

"We're not trying to hurt you, we're trying to–"

"You're trying to what? Help me! Just like taking away my knife is helping. You're not helping."

"Seth, please," Esme's words fell on deaf ears.

* * *

><p>Seth and Pyro sat in a hallway of the hospital staring up at the white ceiling. Neither of them spoke after deciding that simply being next to each other was contact enough for the both of them. They didn't need words to communicate. A simply brush of the hand or raise of the eyebrow was enough to get the point across.<p>

"Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone else," Seth whispered never breaking his staring contest with the ceiling.

"My real name is Alicia, like the singer Alicia Keys." Pyro replied. "What about you?"

"The reason I'm here is because my family walked in on me cutting myself."

"I accidently burned my arm once."

"I think I'm the reason my dad died.

"I burn stuff because the warmth of the fire makes me feel like maybe I'm not as cold on the inside as I think I am."

"I cut myself because pain is the only thing I feel anymore."

"Fire used to be the only thing that kept me warm."

"Pain used to be the only emotion I thought was real."

"I hate myself," Pyro whispered. There was an awkward silence and she swore she heard Seth whisper something that sounded dangerously close to, "I hate myself, too," but she couldn't be sure.

Together they sat in silence each of them wrapped up in their thoughts. Neither of them willing to admit that the only reason they felt anything anymore was because of the person they were sitting next to. Neither of them willing to admit that just sitting here alone was better therapy than talking to that Dr. Burke lady. Neither of them willing to admit that they depended on each other.

When Seth left to go home, his mind was still focused on Pyro.

Two weeks later, Pyro pulled him aside after another long boring lecture from Dr. Burke. The two of them stayed quiet for a while before she pulled out a black switchblade a lot like the one Seth had before the whole bathroom incident. She hadn't said anything except that she thought he should have one again.

"I didn't get you anything," Seth muttered as he flicked open the blade pausing to admire the way it shined in the light. "I should get you a lighter."

"Don't worry about it," Pyro shrugged. "You could take me to get some pancakes tonight in that amazing car of yours."

* * *

><p>Seth lay in bed flicking the switchblade open and admiring the blade before flicking it closed. Sitting there holding that knife made him feel in charge again. It made him feel like there were still parts of his life he could control. Such as Pyro, the blade, and the branding on his arm.<p>

At some point, Seth realized that he hadn't felt the need to cut himself anymore. It was like Pyro had made him forget about the feeling of relief cutting gave him. Pyro was like his substitute blade.

Later on when he looks into a mirror, he'll see his eyes are now almost halfway brown.


	3. Chapter 3

_But my baby's so vain  
>She is almost a mirror<br>And the sound of her name  
>Sends a permanent shiver down my<br>Spine...my spine...my spine_

Seth frowned as Carlisle stared at him disapprovingly. Next to him Pyro shifted uncomfortably from having Esme look the girl up and down. Subconsciously, he grabbed her hand reassuringly. Carlisle raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't say anything. After all, what can you say when your adoptive son got thrown in jail for having a bonfire on a private beach with his pyromaniac girlfriend.

"Seth, what were you thinking?" Esme asked. Her tone of voice made her sound defeated, and Pyro couldn't help but stare at the unnaturally beautiful woman in wonder. "You could've gotten hurt."

"I wouldn't have," Seth replied stubbornly.

"Seth," Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose, "you can't go around setting things on fire."

"Dr. Cullen," Pyro spoke up, "it's my fault. Don't blame Seth."

"Pyro, where are your parents?" Esme's voice was kind and gentle when she spoke to Pyro and Seth couldn't help but long for his adoptive mother to speak to him like that. "Pyro, hunny, you can't leave without your parents coming here to get you."

Pyro shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of the two adults in the room. "They're on vacation." She blurted. "They left for a while, and I don't know when they'll be back."

"Pyro," Carlisle bent down so he was face-to-face with the girl. "You are only sixteen years old if your parents left you here than we need to know where they are so we can call them."

Pyro bit her lip as she looked away. Another moment passed, and Carlisle waved down the police sheriff. "I'm here to sign both of the kids out."

Later on that night, Pyro was lying next to Seth in his bed watching him as he played with his switchblade. Suddenly, he stopped flicking the knife around, and she could feel his eyes on her.

"Where are your parents really at?" Seth asked quietly.

Pyro stared at him for a minute watching him with calculating eyes. "They're dead."


	4. Chapter 4

_I keep her photograph against my heart  
>For in my life she plays a starring part<br>All alcohol and cigarettes  
>There is no room for cheap regrets<em>

Pyro pulled Seth into an abandoned apartment building pausing only to kick discarded cans of gasoline out of the way. Seth looked warily at the dilapidated structure before focusing on his friend that seemed to be unusually happy. A loud voice echoed around the house, and a small group of teens appeared in front of Pyro and Seth.

The teens didn't look like much. One girl had bright pink hair, and the two guys that were with her both had shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. It was obvious that the two boys were related and could even pass as twins. The girl shifted on the balls of her feet cautiously eyeing Seth while raising a pierced eyebrow at the boy. The twins merely smiled at Pyro and ignored the boy she had brought with her.

"Pyro," The boy closest to the girl wrapped his arms around Pyro. "You took _way_ too long to come back."

"Twitch, I want you to meet Seth." The boy – Twitch, apparently – gave a brief nod to Seth before continuing to hug Pyro. "Cyborg is Twitch's brother, and the girl is Klepto."

"Interesting names," Seth announced earning himself a sneer from Klepto.

"They're nicknames genius," She hissed. "Twitch happens to twitch a lot, Cyborg is great with computers, and I'm a kleptomaniac." Seth nodded his head and understanding and Klepto flipped her pink hair over her shoulder. "So what's wrong with you?"

"Why does something have to be wrong with me?" Seth asked.

"Because you're here," Twitch replied finally releasing Pyro from his tight grip. "If you were normal, than you wouldn't be friends with Pyro and you wouldn't be here. So, obviously, something has to be wrong with you."

"I cut myself, and I play with switchblades," Seth responded earning a small smile from Klepto.

"If you're looking for a new blade, I got one out back. It's silver with a nice black dragon design on the handle. It's in good condition too!"

"Klepto, cool it with the illegal weapons thing you've got going on," Cyborg muttered. Slowly, the boy looked Seth up and down before clapping his hands. "You're going to be known as Switch."

"Switch," Seth asked tilting his head to the side.

"Short for switchblade," Cyborg smiled widely. "Welcome to the family Switch."

* * *

><p>Pyro kicked a small pebble away from her cot while Klepto danced with Cyborg. Pyro kept her eyes on everything but the two people rocking back and forth slowly. She tried to ignore her friend's pink hair as it bobbed up and down. She tried, but she was failing.<p>

Cyborg suddenly dipped Klepto before pressing his lips against hers. Pyro turned her head away from the scene wishing that Seth was here. He made her forget about the complications in her life. When she was with him, she forgot about why she set fires. He made everything so much simpler.

Her fingers fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. The branding on her arm seemed to feel warmer with each passing second, and she had the strange urge to go burn something.

"I'm going for a walk," Pyro muttered knowing that her two friends probably couldn't even hear her.

On her way out, she grabbed a bottle of gasoline and her lighter. Pyro walked through the city ignoring the strange looks she received. She made it to an abandoned alley before she located a large dumpster. Her movements became rushed as she poured the gasoline around the dumpster spelling out her name in elegant cursive. She dragged a line from the 'O' in her name leading it to the dumpster. She lit the gas on fire standing back to admire her work.

The fire glowed brighter and Pyro extended her hands so that she could feel the warmth easier. The heat warmed her, and she felt a rush of energy wash over her. Once again, her mind wandered to Seth.

Funny how every thought she had went back to Seth.

* * *

><p>She kissed him.<p>

Pyro had kissed Seth, and the feeling had been great. Her lips tingled, and her stomach fluttered with butterflies. When they pulled away, her heart had been pounding impossibly fast. It wasn't her first kiss, but it was the first kiss that she truly enjoyed.

He had smiled at her and kissed her again this time allowing his lips to linger over hers.

Everything else seemed to be nonexistent. It was like she was in her own little world when she was with Seth. The rest of the world – the real world – seemed to disappear. Nothing else mattered when it was the two of them.

Of course, bad things happened after they kissed.

For one, his family became suddenly aware of Seth's every move. He wasn't allowed outside the house with one of them following him around. His siblings were even allowed to sit in at the group therapy sessions to monitor the two. It made Pyro felt awkward, and she knew that Seth felt awkward as well.

The second thing was that his family seemed content with making sure that she and Seth were separated from each other. They made sure that he always had a long list of chores to do whenever they wanted to go out, or that he had to help his brothers remodel the furniture whenever she wanted him to stop by her "house." She didn't understand why his family was so unhappy with her. From what she had heard, he stopped cutting himself once he met her. But that wasn't satisfying his family.

After the first month of separation, she began to need his warmth. It was a craving that went through her whole body until she did what she usually did when she felt cold inside:

She set fires.


	5. Chapter 5

_But my baby's so vain__  
><em>_She is almost a mirror__  
><em>_And the sound of her name__  
><em>_Sends a permanent shiver down my__  
><em>_Spine...my spine...my spine_

Pyro grinned as she walked into the abandoned warehouse. She inhaled deeply and paused for a moment to set up her supplies before she began to work. A pile of furniture was made in the middle of the warehouse with the beaten up sofa facing towards the fire. She poured the gasoline on the furniture before tossing a match onto it.

The girl gasped as the pile caught on fire momentarily startled by the glow. She made her way over to the sofa and sat down keeping her eyes on the growing fire. Even from ten feet away she could feel the warmth and man did it feel nice.

Immediately, her thoughts wandered over to Seth and as she relaxed into the worn down cushions of the sofa she began to wonder what her friend was doing right about now.

* * *

><p>Seth was staring blankly at his bedroom wall. He was trying his hardest not to think about how Rosalie confiscated the switch blade that Pyro had gotten for him. Instead he wanted to think about how beautiful Pyro looked at therapy that morning. Seth smiled at the mental image of Pyro's laugh when they trading jokes when they were supposed to be talking about how they got better.<p>

Seth closed his eyes and leaned back on his bed letting himself dive into the memories he had of Pyro.

When he looked into the mirror, he noticed how brown his eyes were.

* * *

><p>Pyro shot up quickly from her spot on the couch when she felt the heat form the fire move too close to her body. The girl swore loudly when she realized that she had accidentally fallen asleep and the fire had spread around to the rest of the warehouse. Pyro struggled to get up as she surveyed the room and tried to spot an exit.<p>

"Dammit," Pyro cursed again.

Her short hair bobbed back and forth as she looked for the door. The smoke felt like it was suffocating her causing her to cough uncontrollably. She avoided the fire as best as she could, but she couldn't move fast enough and a wooden beam fell down nearly squishing her.

Pyro fell backwards before falling into another fit of coughs. She slowly rose to her feet muttering a small prayer under her breath when she noticed the beam had fallen just in time to block the one exit she could get to.

Pyro had never prayed before, but now all she could do was pray to the one man who could get her out of this. Perhaps this was her punishment. To burn the same way she burned many other things. Her greatest skill was going to kill her, and it was all before she could tell Seth how much she loved him. She then began to worry about Cyborg, Twitch, and Klepto. She hoped her friends wouldn't her miss her too much.

It was kind of funny how when one was about to die their life doesn't flash before their eyes, but rather they begin to think about the ones they love the most. And right now, Pyro could only think of her makeshift family and one of the only true friends she had ever made.

Pyro dragged her feet over to the sofa and collapsed on it. She closed her eyes for the last time, and the last thought she had was how much she regretted not telling Cyborg, Klepto, Twitch, and Seth that she loved them. After all, she would miss them a lot.

* * *

><p>Edward threw open Seth's door with a wild look on his face. Seth raised an eyebrow in amusement at the vampire's facial expression, but it was quickly wiped off when Edward began apologizing. The wolf was confused. Why was Edward apologizing? What had happened? Dammit, why wasn't Edward explaining anything?<p>

"It's Pyro," Edward whispered. As soon as the words fell from his lips, Seth was out of bed and throwing on his sneakers. "She was inside of a burning warehouse. Carlisle's on his way to the place now."

"Take me there." Seth's voice sounded dangerously low, and when Edward was about to protest Seth slammed his fist against the wall only missing his friend's face by a mere inch. "Edward, take me to Pyro."

By the time the two reached the hospital, Seth recognized two blond haired boys and a pink-haired girl standing outside of a room. Seth's heart dropped down to his knees and he rushed over to the group frantically. Klepto's eyes were puffy from crying, but when she saw Seth she couldn't help stand a little taller and wipe any stray tears from her eyes.

The wolf paused in front of Klepto out of breath and close to crying himself. He asked if Pyro was alright, and Klepto's arms wrapped around him in a gentle embrace. For a moment, he didn't know what to do, but eventually he returned the gesture.

"She's inside," Klepto whispered as she pulled away. "She wanted to see you before… before…" Klepto burst into another fit of sobs and Cyborg pulled his friend into a hug.

"Blade," Twitch whispered placing a hand on Seth's massive shoulder. "The burns are too bad. She might not make it past tonight." Seth shook his head desperately, and Twitch couldn't help but lower his eyes to the ground. "Just go talk to her."

Seth didn't wait any longer. He threw open the door to the room hoping – no _praying_ – that it was a huge mistake and that Pyro would be sitting there on the bed laughing at how gullible he was.

Seth's heart shattered to a million pieces when he saw the girl on the bed.

Pyro's once shiny black hair was matted and splayed all around her, and every part of her body except her head was wrapped in bandages. Her whole right side of her face was slightly burnt, and her left ear had a bandage over it. The girl forced a smile onto her face although it looked like more a grimace.

"Pyro, what did you do?" Seth asked quietly as he approached the bed. He licked his lips before grabbing one of her bandaged hands in his. "What did you _do_?"

"I'm sorry, Seth," Pyro responded her voice sounding raspy. "I'm sorry, but I'm glad you're here."

"I'll always be here." Seth responded. "I love you."

Pyro smiled before relaxing. "I love you, too, Seth 'Blade' Clearwater." Those words were the last words Seth would ever hear from his imprint.

Seth ran. He never ran as fast in his life.

He ignored the sounds of people yelling after him, and he didn't stop running until he got to his house.

He ripped open the drawer in Carlisle's study where he knew his switchblade was. Seth sat down slowly on his adoptive father's chair as he flicked open the blade. Angrily, he pressed the blade into his arm. The moment the first drop of blood fell onto the study floor the door opened slowly and Rosalie and Renesmee walked in.

"Seth I know you're upset, but–"

"But what?" Rosalie's statement was cut off by Seth's yelling. "You never wanted me with Pyro, and now she's gone." Seth choked on his words as a desperate sob came out. "She's gone. Oh God, she's gone."

Seth sobbed loudly as he continued to carve letters into his arm. Neither Cullen girl had to look at his arm to know whose name he was carving on it. They knew that if they looked the name of the girl he loved would stare back up at them.

When Seth finally looked up, he didn't have to look in a mirror to know that Renesmee and Rosalie were staring into cold, black eyes that would give anyone _shivers_.

* * *

><p><strong>That's the end of the book.<strong>

**Sequel coming soon.**

**It's going to be called Scared of Lonely.**

**Look out for it XD**

**~B**


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